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5 Google Glass Apps Worth Watching

Google Glass is believed to officially hit the market sometime this year, and today, only tech insiders and BFFs of a Glass Explorer and $1500 to burn even have a shot of owning a pair of Google Glass.

But developers are already getting Glassware happy and hacking the device’s Mirror API to create experiences for the high-tech headgear.

The Fancy

The most ecommerce-y app comes from The Fancy. The app allows Glassers to snap a photo and share it with The Fancy (add The Fancy as a contact), and The Fancy returns suggested items that can be scrolled through and purchased.

Here’s a video demo:

Retail applications for Glass will likely work in a similar way – use image or voice to pull product information, recommendations or account details, hands-free.

ELLE Magazine

The first magazine to launch Glassware, ELLE carefully curates content for Glass, from read-out-loud story excerpts to bundled photo and video, “street chic” fashion inspiration, horoscopes and browseable look books. Readers can share articles and photos with friends and create reading and shopping lists that can be synced with mobile and desktop devices.

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Parent company Hearst plans to roll out Glassware for its newspaper, TV, healthcare, automotive and financial properties in the future.

Nest Thermostat

The Nest thermostat app enables owners to control the connected device on-the-go, hands-free using voice commands. This feature enhances the product, and hints at the direction the “Internet of things” is headed.

Revolv is another “connected home” app, a formidable disruptor to The Clapper.

Evernote

Software publishers have an advantage, their products are apps themselves. Pieces of the product can be extended to Glass to enhance value to the user and increase customer retention — think push alerts in an analytics or accounting applications, or easy access to frequently accessed reports and files. Evernote’s Glass experience allows you to pull up lists, so you could, for example, read your grocery shopping list hands-free, or take your to-do list on your errand run.

Coupons.com

Affiliate site Coupons.com created a cooking companion for Glass called KitchMe. While mobile apps already offer recipe search, ingredient lists and step-by-step directions, the ability to search by voice command and shop or cook hands-free is a strong value prop.

Future versions will support sharing photos socially.

Like branded utility apps for smartphones and tablets, Glass apps like KitchMe can translate to positive vibes for a business and customer/user loyalty, even if the app itself is not monetized.

Why are these worth watching? Glass is a new and unproven device. First-moving brands and developers are taking the initial risks, let’s wait and see if there’s payoff.